The Times - UK (2022-06-11)

the times Saturday June 11 2022

46 Travel

W

hy would anyone
want to “disrupt”
the Amalfi coast, a
place so revered
for its beauty that
it is regularly de-
scribed as the
most romantic destination on earth?
It’s a question that was pondered by
the owners of Borgo Santandrea,
the first luxury hotel to open on
this iconic coastline in 15 years.
When faced with perfection
— and an area dominated by
grandiose hotels, steeped in
Italian glamour and nostal-
gia — what should one do?
Apparently, create a prop-
erty that’s completely, utterly
and sublimely different.
For the Orlacchios and De
Sianos, two families who run
neighbouring hotels on nearby
Ischia, the chance to be disruptive
came when the ageing Il Saraceno
Grand Hotel appeared on the market. Set
beside the charming little fishing village of
Conca dei Marini and emerging from the
mouth of a gargantuan cave above, it was
an imposing property with a medieval fa-
çade and heavy Moroccan-inspired decor.

It’s been 15 years coming, but there’s finally a new luxury

hotel on Italy’s celebrated coastline — and they’re doing

things rather differently, says Sarah Tomczak

Luxury Italy

A hanging installation of 450 handmade

ceramic anchovies took a painstaking two

years to complete and now sways in the

light breeze that whispers through the

hotel, its spherical shape recalling a shoal

of fish rushing to the surface of the sea.

Equally impressive is the mid-century

furniture. Each corner of the newly ren-

ovated hotel is filled with armchairs by

Hans J Wegner, Erik Worts or Fredrik A

Kayser, reupholstered in 1930s fabrics

designed by Gio Ponti and reproduced by

the Venetian textile brand Rubelli. The

concierge desk is an original Carlo Mollino

glass-topped dining table; a Gerald

Thurston table lamp sits atop the check-in

desk. Extraordinarily, each piece is from

the Orlacchios’ own private collection —

one can only imagine how empty their

home must be right now.

Yet for all the beauty inside — the milky-

white walls, sea of blue tiles and highly

covetable furniture — it’s still the outside

that truly takes your breath away. Oh, to

wake every day with the view from our

bedroom window! (If you can, request

room 608, a corner suite with double-

aspect views and the most beautiful

bathroom ever.) To the left one can see

Amalfi town (it’s two miles by a winding

coast road), to the right the handful of

buildings that appear to have tumbled

down the cliff is Conca dei Marini, and in

between is the infinite blue of the Tyrrhe-

nian Sea dotted with yachts and fishing

boats, some gliding through the water,

others bobbing lazily.

Forget people-watching — which is

what the Amalfi coast has been famed for

since Jackie Kennedy and Sophia Loren

holidayed here in the 1960s — to come to

Borgo Santandrea is to spend your time

marvelling at its lack of people. It manages

never to feel busy (during my visit I had no

clue the hotel was almost full). Whether

you’re sipping a homemade Amalfi

lemonade on the terrace, swimming

lengths in the pristine pool or stretching

out on the private sandy beach, there’s

plenty of space for everyone. A path zig-

zags from the hotel (a perilous 90 metres

above sea level) down to the beach, weav-

ing through fragrant lemon trees, climbing

jasmine, roses and blue myrtle, all perfum-

ing the air. Its 300-plus steps give you a

workout, and also ample photo opportuni-

ties. At the bottom you’re rewarded with a

stylish beach club with striped changing

huts, paddleboards to loan and a to-your-

sunlounger drinks service.

It’s here you’ll receive the most laid-back

culinary offerings too. The hotel has three

restaurants: one by the shore serving sal-

ads and spaghetti (and which will have a

pizza oven this summer), while back at the

top of the hotel Alici delivers a modern

spin on classics, from deep-fried courgette

flowers stuffed with ricotta and anchovies

to the area’s iconic delizia al limone, a mini

sponge cake filled with lemon custard.

But if you could look beyond this

unconvincing aesthetic, its foundations

revealed its 1960s roots, hinting at the

more modernist renovation its soon-to-

be-owners had in mind.

Over the next four years — longer than

intended, thank you Covid — they

stripped out the Moorish interiors, re-

placing them with marble columns

and arched windows reminiscent

of the classical architecture of

ancient Italy (the research for

this now forms a private photo

collection on display in the

hotel, and can be purchased

by guests). Walls were

knocked down to create far

more generous guest rooms:

45 in total, including 16 suites,

eight with private plunge

pools. Floors were ripped up

and in their place myriad tiles

laid. Thirty-one different geo-

metric designs, from chevrons to

herringbone to basketweaves, were

conceived for the property, all in varying

shades of blue and white, and handmade

and painted by local artisans. They now

stretch out before you in lobbies, terraces

and suites, a sea of colour perfectly

complementing the ocean view beyond.

Naples

Amalfi

Borgo

Santandrea

Sorrento

Capri

Ischia

Positano

ITALY

5 miles

The hotel the

Amalfi coast has

been waiting for

A suite overlooking the sea Conca dei Marini village.